Dirigible airship.



T.P.DUNN. DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP. APPLIUTION FILED APB..21,1909.

Patnted 001;. 24, 1911'.

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""w ATTURNE YS- T. F. DUNN.

DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP. Brummen FILED A1 R.z1,19os.l

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I 1 AAA Patented 0G13. 24, 1911.

T.P.DUNN. DIEIGIBLE AIRSHIP.`

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21,1909. v

, -Patenfed 0013.24, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.l

1,006,734. Patented @cu2/13,1911A 4 SHEETS-'SHEET 4.

recense.

f emr e THOMAS r. DUNN, or. new YORK, N. Y.

DIRlGIBLE AIRSHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Application filed April 21, 19.09. Serial No. 491,266.

. cation, such as will enable those skilled in `the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. This" invention relates to dirieible airships, and the object thereof is to provide an improved machine of this class which involves an oblong tapered balloon or jgas container ot' the usual form and which constitutes the chief carrying power, and which valso involves a novel wind shield, gas magazines, cones giving variable speed and comechanism, and by which the propelling mechanism is stopped while the engine is running; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in a dirigible air-ship constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which thev accompanying drawinots form a part, in which the separate parts etn my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in Which:-

Figure l is a side view of my improved air-ship, Fig. 2 a side View of my improved air-ship on an enlarged scale, Fig. 3 a 'bottom plan view of the same, parts of the'construction 'being omitted, Fig. 4 an enlarged` view in cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 an enlarged View in cross section on the line ot' Fig. 1 showing keel and gas magazines and manner' of supporting gas magazines from keel, also 4manner of `atta-ching cords'of net to keel, Fig. 6 an enlarged plan view of the driving mechanism,

` parts of the construction being: omitted,

and ;--Fig. 7' a side View of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrow as'.

In the practice ot' my invention, I provide-A a balloon or gas container a which, in the fornr of construction shown, is tapered at.

l vided with a net work of cords o inthe usual manner, and placed longitudinally of f and beneath the balloon or gas container a is a l or neel bar c composed of a bottom or web member o2 and a top member o, both members being tapered from the middle portion thereof toward both ends and, in practice, the cords 7) are arranged diagonally in opposite directions around the balloon or gas body a as clearly shown in Figs. l and 2,

and are connected with the top member o3 of the T-bar o and with the web portion of said bar as clearly shown in Fig. 5, and as indicated in Fig. 2, the alternate cords in each direction being alternately connected with the web member o2 of said bar and with the top member o3 thereof. It will be noticed, Fig. 5, that this manner of attaching the cords at nearly right angles on each side of the keel bar in connection with the cables c and braces e2 on the bottom, hereinatter described, serves to brace and reinforce the keel and keep it from buckling.

The T-bar. o extends "approximately the full length of the balloon or gas container a, and in the form of construction shown, said bar is composed of two equal parts rigidly connected with a central transversely arranged box d the opposite side Walls of' section.

,The box ci is open at the top and bottom,

`and the balloon or gas container a is provided centrally of the bottom thereof with a 'neck a2, Figs. 1, 2 and 7 which extends downwardly into said box and 'through which the said balloon or gas container may be iilled with the required gas, and the said neck' may be closed when desired by 4al1 ordinary draw cord or in any preferred manner.

Extending along the bottom of thc gas container for substantially its whole length, Figs. 2 and 4, one on each side, are the gas magazines nl and n2 supported by arms fn, which are attached to and project from the keel bar o. The top n* and bottom ln.'rl ot the gas magazines are made .of rigid or semi- -rigid material and the sides a" of balloon cloth or other gas proof flexible material which is. made to fold up like a bellows when the magazines are empty. The bottoms of these magazines are fastened to tlu` arms and the tops thereof are hinged to them at the back, and the fronts thereof tormcfl in the manner of a pair of bellows. (low and these valves are kept closed by the springs n which are tensioncd' so thatthe pressure of the gas when it reaches a certain point will overcome the power of the springs and open the valves to let out the gas if necessary.

Under ordinary conditions, when a balloon enters warmer air the `gas expands so that more or less of it has to be allowed to escape to prevent the balloon from bursting, and when it enters colder air the gas contracts and ballast has to be thrown out to prevent descending. -This has to be repeated until the gas or ballast is exhausted and the balloon has to land. lVith my improvement, when the gas expands the pressure of the gas forces it through the pipes nl into the magazines, and when the gas contracts and the pressure is reduced the weight of the, covers of the magazines forces the gas back into the gas container or balloon. By this means the necessity of letting gas escape or throwing overba'llast is obviated and the air-ship can remain longer in the air, make longer voyages and can carry more freight or passengers instead of the needless ballast..

On'the front end of the gas container I put a wind shield as of rigid or semirigid material in the form of a hollow cone, fitting over and around the front end of the gas container Iand extending outwardly beyond its sides and'which is rigidly attached to the T or keel bar c by braces a4. By this means the main pressure of .the air induced by the forward movement of t e airship is borne vrigidly connected with the box d' and the T 4bar c, an'd suspended therefrom by means of by the wind' shield and -bar c and being made of `rigid material it can be made more elongated and thus reduce the air pressure. I also provide a' cage 0r car e' which is stays or braces e" at each side of said cage or car and at each side of the b'X d andT or keel bar c. Projecting from the bottom of the car e on each end and from each side at the center thereof arepoles or axles e, on which are mounted wheels et. similar to ordinary bicycle wheels, and which will form a support for the machine when resting on the ground, and permit of its being freely moved forwardly or backwardly or into any desired position. AThe axles are strengthened by the braces e".

Connected with the front and back ends-of'.

the cage or car c are cables e7 whichare also connected with the extended end portionsbf brace and reinforce the T-bar c. I also pro-I vide a suitable gasolene or other motor h which, in the form of construction shown, is placed centrally in the cage or car e,- andthe shaft li.2` of this motor is proyided with a sprocket wheel h3 on which is mounted a drive chain IL* which also passes around a larger sprocket wheel 1 mounted on a main drive and cone shaft 8V The frame z', Figs, (S and 7 is rigidly suspended from the box (l and T-bar c by the braces .2'1 and 2'2, and stand bearings 113, tare attached to its sides. The standbearings z" have slotted bolt holes through which are passed pins or bolts connected with the frame z' as shown at 2, and the bearings e7* are also provided with projecting lugs' i, and by means of bolts 7 which connect said lugs and the back ofthe frame, the stand bearings 2'* may be drawn backward of the frame so as to keep the 'cone b'elt J9 herein--I after described tight.

The back cone shaft s is mounted in the stand bearing i4, and the cone i?" and the Vsprocket wheel 1 are rigidly fastened to it.

The frontcone shaft J is mounted in the stands 3,-and the. part J2 of the cone J1 is rigidly fastenedto it and sprocket wheels J t are rigidly attached one to each end thereof. The part J? of the cone J1 isa-rranged to .answer the. purposes lof a'loose-kpulley-and brake wheel, and it is composed Aof' the hub J 5, the spokes J 0, the part Jz that is used for a loose pulley and the part J8 that used for a brake wheel, and when not in' use it runs loose on the shaft. shaf'b J is driven from the back cone shift if? by the belt J 9 running on the cones i a d J1, and when the belt is on the part J 2 of the The front cone cone J1 whichis rigidly attached toits shaft,

A brake K is pivotea in" brake sans K1' rigidly attached to the frame so that it can swing back and forth and has a backwardly extending aijm K2 which is slotted at its outer end, anda screW-shaftKa is passed through it. The shaft Ka is threaded at its upper end to engage a nut K, and a pin K5 projects upward into the nut from the ar1nK2 and prevents the nut from turning. A collar or-shoulde-r K is rigidly attached to the shaft K8 .and bearing against the brake stand K1 keeps the shaft from rising.- When the shaft K* is turned into the nut K4 it draws it down bringing the arm K2 of the brake with it thereby lifting the brake fromthe brake wheel, and when the shaft Ksis turned in the opposite directov til)

land beveled gears 711'" are mounted on speed may be obtained and by shipping the belt onto the part J3 o'f the front cone as j shown in Fig. 6 the propelling machinery may be stopped without stopping the engine. Suspended from the box l are hangers ,f l in whlch is mounted amain transverse shaft. y

f2 the ends of which project well beyond the box and mounted on the end portions of Said shaft are sleeves y* which are adapted to rotate on said shaft and which are kept in place onv said shaft by collars f/T.

The sleeves (/1, .(/2 arc/provided with beveled gear wheels g and` g, on their outer ends andwith sprocket wheels g and y on their inner ends. and to lessen friction the sleeves (11, y bear on the shaft f2 at their ends only. ends of the cone shaft J drive the sprocket wheels'g3 and y* by means of the drive chains J1". y

To the outer ends of the shaft f2 are rigidly attached at right angles thereto supplementary shafts /11 which by turning the Shaft'f2 are made to revolvl around its axis. and revolve on the supplementary shafts 71.*. and propellers l1,7 that propel the air ship are rigidly attached to the hubs of these gears.

A worm gear ff is fastened on the middle l of the shaft f2 and is operated by a worm f* which is supported by a brace ff attached to the box (I. The worm f* is provided with i a downwardly projecting shaft y/L on -the lower end of which is attached a wheel y by means of which it` may he. turned. and by means of the worm gear j and worm f" in connection with the. shaft. y, the shaft f2 can be turned in either direction and is at all times held securely locked in the position ity is turned to. The supplementary shafts /i have sleeves l1. which tit over the ends of the shaft f2 and by means of vwhich they are fastened tol it. and said supple mentary `shafts are also provided with pro jef-ting slmulders les extending around their circumference and which act as bearings for the hubs of the gears lr. and the ends of said sha'l'ts are threaded to engage nuts il.4

which keep thc gears and propellcrs on said shafts.

'l`hc l'ront end of the, frame i is provided with a hanger o to which is pivoted at o a shipping lever o which ranges bzu'kwardly and the free. cud o of which is supported in a transverse slirrup o" the bottom ot' which is provided with pins o" between which the lever o is adapted to rest. d y. t

The lever o is provided centrally thereof with upwardly directed fingers 0T which The sprocket wheels J* on the straddle the belt J, and by means of this construction, by manipulating the lever 054 the said belt may be shifted from the position shown in fulllines in ["ig. t3 to the p0- sition shown in dotted lines in saidl g'urc and back again whenever desired. or said belt may be shifted on the driving cone i" l and the'part JL' of the cone J into any de# sired position so as to increase or decrease the speed of the shaft Jz andthe propellers /17 as will be readily understood.

Toward the rear end of the ship is pivoted t 'j a"rfhdder or steering lshaft s providedwith 1 a rudder or steering device s3. and the shaft l s! is provided with ylaterally directed arms -sf witli'\\"l1ich is connected a cord or cord?l around a groovcd hand wheel s mounted on or connected with the cage or car c. and by manipulating the cord or cords si the rudder or steering device may be manipui lated as will be readily understood to control the movement of the machine horizontally or forwardly or bacltwardly.

lVith my improved air ship construction, as herein shown and described. it will be seen that the center of gravity-of the apparatus taken as a whole will be approximately under the transverse shaft f1. and said shaft is arranged transversely of themiddle of the balloon or gas container. and the keel or T-bar c. and this serves to perfectly balance the machine at all times.

From the foregoing description. it will be seen. that the T-bar 'c forms a keel for the balloon or gas container a and tends to hold the same in proper form and to make said balloon or gas container steady in the operation of the machine, and the said T-bar and cage or car c heilig rigidly connected in the manner described and braced and stayed by the martingales c7 and the braces and stays are made rigid and firm and the operation of the machine and especially the propelling mechanism as hereinafter described made possible. and the parts thereof held in proper condition without danger of displacement or breakage in actual use.

The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description. when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the following statement thereof: lV ith the propellcrs hl in the position shown in Figs. (i and 7, the machine will he propelled forwardly or backed as will be readily understood. but by turning the gear f* by means of the shaftf/12 connected therewith the supplementary shafts li. which carry the propellers /17 may he turned so that. the prf pellers hl will be in and revolve in a horizontal plane as shown' in dotted lines in Fig. i t3, and with the propcllers in this position l. the machine may he raised or lowered as will i be. readily understood.

In the drawings forming part of which are carried forwardly and passed this specification, the shafts h1 are secured tothe `1shaft f2 in the lsame position and projectv in y the same direction, and with this construction the propellers hf revolve in opposite directions, and this aids in balancing the machine and in the operation thereof. f.

It may sometimes be necessary or desirable for testing or other purposes to stop the machinery or the propelling mechanism without stopping the motor, and in order to do this, the cone belt J n is shifted into the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 6, or onto the vparti J3 of the cone J1, which part operates as a loose pulley and brake wheel, and when said belt is in this position the brake K may be applied to the brake wheel so Vas to give the motor the same load that it would have if the propelling mechanism `were in operation, and this will'prevent the engine from running free or racing, and the propelling mechanism may be again thrown into operation by shifting belt J 9 back int/o the posit-ion shown in full lines in Fig. 6 and releasing the brake K. Having fully described my invention, what l". claim as new and desire to secure by Let;

ters Patent, is:--

l. A dirigible airship provided with a propeller mechanism involving two parallel shafts provided with reversed cone pulleys the base portion of one of said pulleys being formed separately therefrom and being rotatable on the corresponding shaft and adapted to serve as a loose pulley and brake wheel, and a. brake device operating in connection therewith.

2. A dirigible airship provided with a propeller mechanism involving two parallel shafts provided with reversed cone pulleys the base portion of one of said pulleys being formed separately therefrom and being rotatable on the corresponding shaft and adapt,

ed to serve as a loose pulley and brake wheel,v a brake device operating 1n connection there lwith, a driving belt mounted on said conc pulleys, and means whereby said beltmay be shifted onto the different parts of said cone pulleys.

in a dirigihle airship, a transverse .shai rotatabiesleeves mounted on the opposite' end portions thereof and provided at their inner ends with sprocket wheels and at their outer ends with beveled gears, supplemental shafts rigidly connected with the ends of said transverse shaft and at right angles thereto, propellers mounted on said supplemental shafts and geared in connection with said beveled gears, two cone shafts mounted in parallel position, cone pulleys secured to said shafts and in reversed posi.- lions the hase portion of one of said cone pulleys being formed independently thereof and being rotatable on the corresponding shaft and adapted to serve as a loose pulley and brake ",vhoel, a brake device operating in connection with said brake wheel, a driving belt mounted .on said cone pulleys, means for shifting said belt into different positions on said pulleys, the shaft of the divided cone pulley4 being connected by sprocket chains 'withsaid sleeves, and the shaft of the other cone pulley being connectedby a sprocket chain with a motor, and means for rotating A outer ends of said rotatable sleeves, said suppleinental beveled .Oears being also provided with hubs, a power transmission and lnake'mechanism provided with a shaft parallel with the transversely arranged shaft and geared in connection with said rotatable sleeves, hand-operated devices for turning said transversely arranged shaftindependent of said rotatable sleeves, and al motor geared in connect-ion with the power transmission and brake mechanism.

5. A dirigible airship provided with atransversely arranged shaft, the end portions of-which project from the opposite sides of the frame-worlcof the ship, rotatable Adevices mounted on the opposite'end lportions of said shaft outside of the frame work of thev ship, said rotatable device'sbeing provided with beveled gears at their outer ends, short supplemental shafts rigidlysecured to the outer ends of the'transverscly arranged shaft and. at rightangles thereto, supplemental beveled gears mounted on said supplemental' shafts and meshlng with the beveled gears on the'outer "end of said rotatable. devices, `saidsupple-- mental beveled gears being provide( with hubs, propellers mounted on said hubs,y a' power and bra-ke mechanism provldeil'wlth a cone shaft which is vparallel 'with the transversely arranged shaft and geared in connection with said rotatable devices, said cone shaft being provided with a cone whichl formsia part of said power and hralke mech.- amsni', and means for turning the transverscly arranged shaft independently of said rotatable devices. v

(3. ln a dirigible airship, a transverse shaft, rotatable sleeves mounted on the pposite end port-ions thereof and provided at their inner ends with sprocket Wheels and/ at their outer ends with beveled gears, supplemental siiafts rigidly connected withyfthe amena; n y y en ls'of said transverse shaft and at right angles thereto, propellers mounted on said ysupplemental shafts and geared in connection with said beveledgears, two cone shafts mounted in parallel position, eone-pulleys secured to said shafts and in reversed positions the base portion ofone of said cone pulleys being formed independently thereof and being rotatable on the corresponding shaft and adapted to serve as a loose pulley, a driving belt mounted on said cone ulleys, means for shifting said belt into ierent ositions on said lpulleys, the shaft of the divided cone pui ey being connected by sprocket chains with saidsleeves, and ,the shaft of thelother cone pulley being connected by a sprocket chain with a motor, and

'means for rotating the transverse shaft.

7. A dirigible airship provided With a transversely arranged shaft, the end por- --tions of which project from the opposite sides of the framework of the ship, rotatable sleeves mounted on the opposite end portions of said shaft outside of the framework of the ship, said sleeves being provided with beveled gears on their outer ends, short sup plemental shafts rigidly secured .tdthe outer ends of the transverse shaft and at right angies thereto, sipplemental beveled gears mounted on sai sup lemental shafts and meshin with the beve ed gears on the outer `ends o said rotatable sleeves, said supple-v mental beveled gears being also provided with hubs, a power transmission mechanism provided with a shaft parallel with the transversely arranged shaft and geared in 

